Heavy fuel oil (also referred to as marine fuels) is conventionally used in large format internal combustion engines, for example, engines used in marine vessels and power stations, and in refineries to heat distillation columns. Heavy fuel oil may also be consumed in distillation processes (for example, cracking and/or hydrocracking) to re-extract more noble products from the heavy fuel oil.
Heavy fuel oil is generally unstable, and are prone to settling of its constituents. The settling of the certain precipitants may cause deposits to form at the bottom of storage tanks holding the heavy fuel oil. In instances in which the liquid is removed and the precipitants remain, damage may be caused to an engine that consumes precipitants in an unacceptably high amount.
Conventional testing methodologies have been presented (for example, ASTM D4740) that govern determining the cleanliness of the heavy fuel oil. However, such test methodologies require significant human intervention and are prone to inaccuracies.
Accordingly, fuel sampling systems that exhibit improved reliability and consistent performance may be desired.